Vaulters shunning helmets despite recent deaths

Published 6:00 pm, Thursday, April 4, 2002

One by one, the pole vaulters at the Texas Relays went over the cross bar, some reaching heights that exceeded 17 feet before crashing back to earth on the soft mat.

Of the nearly 100 vaulters who competed, only a few wore helmets Friday.

Despite the recent deaths of three vaulters who suffered fatal injuries, many said it's unlikely they'll ever wear helmets.

"It's a lot of personal preference," said Jimmy Radford, a junior at Mississippi who says he's never worn a helmet.

"Everyone's looking at it as a quick fix," he said. "I'm sure in some instances it would be beneficial."

Earlier in the day, Idaho State officials said their vaulters would use helmets similar to those worn by skaters at a meet this week in Montana.

"This is a visible step for us, and I think the sport will continue to take other steps to protect the vaulters," said Idaho State coach Dave Nielsen, a former Big Ten champion who coached 2000 Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila.

At the Texas Relays, however, the bare head was the look of choice.

Hosted by the University of Texas, the annual meet is one of the biggest outdoor events of the year. It attracts hundreds of college and high school athletes and even some Olympians.

Donnie Dorsey, a 17-year-old junior at Cedar Park high school, was one of the few vaulters Friday who wore a helmet, a blue plastic shell that weighs next to nothing. He's been vaulting five years and a wearing a helmet for three.

"You could fall off the mat and bust your head wide open," Dorsey said. "Last year, one of my teammates crashed and broke his wrist. He didn't hurt his head because he had a helmet on. I think it's going to become a rule some day."

Brad Barrington watched his son Ty, a 10th-grader at Southlake Carroll high school, clear 15 feet, 10 inches without wearing a helmet. He said Ty doesn't like to wear one and he won't force him to. The father tries not to worry about injuries.

"If they made it a rule, we'd certainly abide by that," Brad Barrington said. "I couldn't say I'd be disappointed if they did."

Samoa Fili II, a 17-year-old high school student in Wichita, Kan., died Monday, two days after an attempt at a 12-foot vault. His body hit the landing mat but his head struck the pavement.

In February, Penn State vaulter Kevin Dare died after a headfirst fall during a Big Ten meet. Also in February, 16-year-old Jesus Quesada died in a pole vaulting accident during practice at Clewiston High School in Florida.

The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research says 15 fatal pole vaulting accidents occurred at American high schools from 1983 to 2000.

John Chaplin, the head coach for U.S. men's track and field team in the 2000 Summer Olympics and meet referee for the Texas Relays, said athletes should wear helmets if it makes them feel safe.

But he said more research is needed before any serious consideration of making them mandatory.

Putting the wrong kind of helmet on a pole vaulter might not help in an accident, he said. Nor is it likely to prevent a neck or spinal injury.

"Nobody wants anybody to die. We want everyone to be safe," said Chaplin, who noted that other track events such as the javelin, discus and shot put also carry some risk. "These are by (nature) dangerous."

Chaplin suggested that high schools have certified coaches for such events to improve safety. Then they would be more likely to coach proper technique and use the correct equipment, he said.

"Don't just say a track coach is a track coach, fire a gun and they all turn left," Chaplin said.

Cal Poly's Jon Takahashi won the University Men Section B pole vault with a height of 17 feet, 2 3/4 inches. Southwest Texas' Becky Collins won the University Section B women's vault at 12-5 1/2.

In other events Friday:

_LSU posted the fastest times in the preliminaries of the men's and women's 400 meter relays and won the men's long jump behind 2000 Olympian Walter Davis.

The men circled the track in 39.35 seconds and the women had the top time in 44.37 seconds. Both teams have already qualified for the NCAA championships. The finals are scheduled Saturday.

Davis' leap of 26 feet, 7 3/4 inches also was good enough to qualify for the NCAA championships. He is scheduled to compete Saturday in the triple jump, which he won the last two years.

_Southern Methodist's Libor Charfreitag won the men's hammer throw with a toss of 244 feet, the top college mark this season.

_Carl Myerscough of Nebraska, the NCAA indoor champion in the shot put, won the men's discus with a toss of 195-2. Mary Etter of Oregon won the women's discus with a mark of 173-6.